The Local 913: Jimmy Bucek

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Pittsburgh MC Jimmy Bucek has a very interesting vocal delivery. Matched with his unusual lower register, he sounds more like he’s reciting poetry than rapping. He claims he used to go a lot faster, but that progressed as he worked out his style.

“I needed to slow down a bit. I got real into pauses, like where to take correct pauses. My friend Garrett started talking to me about the swing and to not leave everything on the one. Trying to be very precise with cadence and making it snap right before the snare and the one. I put a lot of focus on how things line up and how to complete the story.”

To top it off, Bucek has gracefully matched his passion for hip-hop with his love of jazz. Although, according to Jimmy, the two genres are more alike than they are different.

“Hip-hop is all about the feel and the feel is welcoming. You put on a beat, it should be casual and you should be enjoying it. Something about those elements in jazz are very similar. Hip-hop is four bars and a loop that repeats over and over. It’s about getting that loop so perfect that you can listen to it over and over again and it’s still beautiful. Something about creating that feeling in hip-hop is very similar to the feeling in jazz.”